EU & Spain's HIPRA sign joint procurement deal for Covid vaccines

The European Commission has signed a joint procurement contract with Spanish pharmaceutical company HIPRA for supplying its protein Covid-19 vaccine, which is currently awaiting approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The EU executive body said that 14 member states would take part in the joint procurement, under which as many as 250 million doses can be purchased.

Cases of Covid-19 are rising again in Europe, and the agreement aims to make HIPRA's vaccine quickly available to the participating countries.

Read more: US to share Covid vaccine tech says Biden, but still no IP waiver

"We need to ensure maximum preparedness as we head into the autumn and winter months. The HIPRA vaccine adds yet another option to complement our broad vaccine portfolio for our member states and citizens," said Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides.

"An increase in vaccination and boosting is essential over the coming months. We are working tirelessly to make sure there are vaccines available for all," she added.

The HIPRA bivalent recombinant protein vaccine was developed as a booster shot for previously immunised people 16 years and older. Similarly to the vaccine developed by US-based pharma company Novavax, the HIPRA jab uses a recombinant protein.

It also needs to be stored at a refrigerated temperature between 2 and 8ºC, making storage and distribution in Europe and across the world easier.

Read more: EU accused of putting profit before people in Covid vaccine row

In December, a HIPRA executive told Reuters that the company was confident that its experiment Covid-19 vaccine would be in high demand in the EU, as it is designed to offer protection against new variants of the virus, can be stored and transported easily, and can be mass-produced.

The Spanish company specialised in veterinary vaccines for some 50 years and is active in over 100 countries. It has already signed a purchase deal with Vietnam, where it conducted tests, for the supply of 50 million doses. 

Back to Homepage

Back to Healthcare